"Atheism is not merely the denial of a dogma. It is the reversal of a subconscious assumption in the soul..." - Chesterton
"We do not really face two rival versions of Christianity. We face Christianity on the one hand and, on the other hand, some other religion that selectively uses Christian words, but is not Christianity." - J. Gresham Machen

The Story of Zacchaeus

My Latest Childrens' Book

Alberta Evangelism

About Me

More About Me

What I believe:
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.
I believe he was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
I believe he suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
I believe he descended to the grave and on the third day he rose again.
I believe he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
I believe he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.
I believe we are saved by grace alone through faith alone. I believe the Bible is the word of God, without error or contradiction.
I believe God is sovereign over all the universe; omnipotent and omniscient in all things. I believe that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. I believe that pretty much covers it.

Sunday, 23 November 2008

Even When It Hurts

In this morning's adult class we looked at Psalm 15, speaking of who may dwell in the LORD's sanctuary. Parts of verses three and four gave me food for thought:

...(he who) has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts...

Someone raised the point that slander involves speaking lies about another person. But I believe the Christian is held to an even higher standard. Sometimes there are things that, even if true, we should keep to ourselves. We can cast slurs even if what we say about another might be true. Let's say we have been wronged in some way by another, even a brother or sister in Christ. And let's say even that our complaint is legitimate. Matthew 18 gives us instructions for resolving conflicts in the church, but whether the situation is resolved or not, we must let it go. It is not up to us to grumble, or even hint at in casual conversation, how badly we have been treated. I was reminded by a recent post on Dave Groff's blog of Ephesians 4:29,

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

No matter how justified we might feel, or how wronged we might feel ouselves to have been, or how right our case against the other, we are commanded by the Apostle Paul to speak only what will build others up, not tear them down.

And this brings me to the last part of my quote from Psalm 15,

...who keeps his oath even when it hurts...

As Christians, I believe that keeping an oath also refers to our obeying the word of God. Not only are we to refrain from all speech that does not build others up, we are not to, "go public" with our disputes.

I believe this applies to the current disputes within the Anglican Church of Canada, where various dioceses are taking congregations to court (over Church properties) who have opted to join the Anglican Network in Canada under the oversight of the Province of the Southern Cone. It should be well known that my sympathies lies squarely with the Network in these disputes. I link to them below. But I believe they should not be involved in these legal disputes, even as the, "passive" party. Why? Because these proceedings are being held in front of unbelievers, and even just defending oneself, being the party under attack, if you like, becomes part of the spectacle of what the world sees as Christians divided amongst themselves. Now I realize I have the luxury here of not being involved in one of these disputes. I have the luxury of not having to see the building in which I have worshipped, perhapes all my life, being claimed by what I see (rightly I might add) as an apostate organization. But these are just buildings, which is more than the most vibrant Church of all time, the first century Church, had. I realize I may draw the ire of my brothers and sisters who are the victims of these litigations, but I believe they should just walk away. As Paul said, "Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?"

The one who would dwell in the LORD's sanctuary, who would live on His holy hill is the one who, "keeps his oath... even when it hurts."

3 comments:

My heart is with you - although I have much sympathy for those who aren't willing to roll over in the face of the ACoC's efforts to claim all property occupied by ANiC congregations. What really surprises me is that you haven't drawn any other comments.